‘Apex Legends’ is undergoing ‘major systematic change’ at EA

Electronic art is rethinking its approach to its long-running, free-to-play first-person shooter “Apex Legends” following soft monetization results for the latest live services game update and changes to the Battle Pass offering.

“The quarter saw the launch of Season 22 of ‘Apex Legends’ with significantly more new features for both casual and seasoned players, including more modes, a new map and new anti-cheat software,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson told a company fiscal profit for the second quarter of 2025 call Tuesday. “After changes to the Battle Pass construction, we did not see the increase in monetization that we expected. Two things have become clear in the free-to-play FPS category. Firstly, in the competitive landscape where brand, a strong core player base and quality mechanics are more important than ever, ‘Apex’ has proven to be a compelling franchise for us and a strong player in the industry. Second, major systemic changes are needed to achieve significant growth and reengagement. We will continue to focus on maintaining and breadth of content serving our global community as we work to create more significant, innovative changes in the future.”

According to CFO Stuart Canfield, net bookings for “Apex Legends” “fell below our expectations for the quarter as we extended premium access through the entire first half of the Season 22 Battle Pass.”

“Following the release of the Second Half Battle Pass on September 17, we saw a return to spend conversion levels consistent with previous seasons,” Canfield said. “As we look ahead, we have adjusted the remainder of FY25 to reflect lower engagement than expected in our previous guidance. As Andrew said, we are committed to delivering new experiences for our players, with a continued focus on improving player engagement and retention.”

Canfield says EA expects “Apex Legends” to “return the business as we get through the latter parts of early ’26 and beyond.”

Wilson elaborated during the earnings call on plans to overhaul the game later, clarifying that he doesn’t expect this to mean the release of a sequel game to “Apex Legends,” but rather bigger changes to the existing game, in which EA “will investing in two vectors.”

“The first is the growth of our seasonal content,” he said. “And what you’ve seen from us over the last few seasons is a bigger and bigger seasonal decline every time. Very high quality has created very high sentiment among our player base, and we continue to add the level of innovation and creativity season after season.”

He continued: “What we have also observed is the need for meaningful, systematic innovation in the game, which has fundamentally changed the way the game plays more broadly. Our teams are also working on that. We’re at a moment right now where we’re managing the current trajectory of the company, but we believe that, by virtue of the strength of the brand, the size of the global community, the position we hold at the top of this free- to-play live service games that can bring that back to growth on the business side over time.”